Content Tags

Introduction

Tags provide an easy to use and efficient way to organise and display content. The Tags Component allows individual tags to be used across different content types including articles, categories, contacts and newsfeeds. It also provides for creation of parent and child tags.

Unlike Joomla Categories, where only one category can be assigned to an item, multiple tags may be assigned to a single item but it is not a requirement to assign tags to items.

Once an item is tagged with a specific tag, clicking the tag button on content displaying tags will take you to a page that displays a list of all items that have been tagged with that particular tag. For this reason, tags are often used as a way to present filtered lists of content.

Tags can be added in several places, giving flexibility in tag creation.

Considerations

Before starting, consider the purpose of tags on the website, especially if others will be adding content. Unless they are added and managed correctly, tags can become counter productive. Common problems include content writers adding new unnecessary tags and miss-spelled tag names. Some Site Administrators may choose to change Access permissions so that only specific users can add new tags.

The following screenshot shows tags used on a site containing articles on UNESCO World Heritage Sites. In this case each tag has a distinctive colour.

When tags are created they will display as links in the tagged items. The tag styles and positions are defined by the site template. They are often styled as buttons or labels.

Tag display may be turned off for individual articles or all articles! This may seem illogical but it is a useful feature where tags are used, for example, to filter content for specific use cases.

The Tags List

• Select Components → Tags from the Administrator menu.

This screenshot shows tags in a structure used for a multilingual site. Each language has a list of tags with a language tag as the parent. The parent tag is used in the Popular Tags and Similar Tags modules.

However tags are created, they can be found in this list.

• Select the New button in the Toolbar to create a new tag.
• Select a tag Title to edit an existing tag.

The Tag Details tab

• Title This is the only required field.
• Alias This is created from the Title on save.
• Description It is always best to add a Description. It is displayed in Administrator forms and can be helpful when a lot of tags are in use.
• Parent Leave set to None if this is a tag that has no parent. Or choose a parent tag from the list to make this a child tag.
• Status This field is set to Published by default. It can be set to Unpublished, Archived or Trashed.
• Access The Access level is Public by default.
• Note and Version Note: If required you can add notes.
• Save & Close If you are creating multiple tags you can choose to select Save & New to create new tag.

The Options tab

• Layout There may be several layouts to choose from and you can create your own layout with a template override.
• CSS Class for tag link By default, tags are displayed as a blue button. You can enter class statements here to customise tag appearance to give different tags different colours. Example: bg-danger-subtle border border-danger are Bootstrap classes that produce a pink button with a red border.
• Teaser Image and Full Image Set images for the tag - a teaser image for the tag list and/or a full image for the tag page.

The Publishing tab

• Set Metadata for the tag page for Search Engine Optimisation (SEO).

Alternative Creation Methods

From within an Article

It is possible to add new tags whilst creating or editing an article. In the article Content tab Tags Field enter the name of the new tag and press Enter to save and assign the tag to the article.

From within a Category

Tags can be added when creating or editing category. In the Category tab enter the tag name in the Tags Field and press Enter to create and assign the new tag.

From within a Contact

Tags can be added when creating or editing a Contact. In the New/Edit Contact tab enter the tag name in the Tags Field and press Enter to create and assign the new tag. You can also add new tags when creating Contact Categories.

From within a Newsfeed

Tags can be added when creating or editing a new Newsfeed. In the New/Edit News Feed tab enter the tag name in the Tags Field and press Enter to create and assign the new tag. You can also add new tags when creating Newsfeed Categories.

Managing Tags

Wherever you add new Tags within Joomla, they will all appear in the Tags list. Use the Tags list to find, open and adjust tag settings.

You can manipulate the list in a number of ways:

• Search for a tag by using some or all of its title or alias in the Search field.
• Reorder the list using drag and drop to optimise the output order.
• Publish or Unpublish tags using the button in the Status column.
• Select one or more tags and use the Actions button to Publish, Unpublish, Archive, Check-in or Trash the selected tags.
• Select one or more tags and use the Actions → Batch button to set the Language or Access Level.

Tag Outputs

Once tags have been created on your site they are available for use in content and in modules such as Popular Tags and Similar Tags. The following examples show how these might look on a site using the default Cassiopeia Template.

When you select one of the tags you will be taken to a page that lists all items assigned to that particular tag:

The list of items is a filtered list of website content with the selected tag. A filter box is provided to make it easier to find items as the list grows. You can also set the number of results you want to see in a single view.

Tags Configuration

Individual tags inherit settings from the Tags component options. Select the Options button in the Tags list page Toolbar to see the available default tag options.

The Tags Component configuration options can be overridden at the content item and/or menu item levels.

Tips

• Remember that Tags are used across multiple content types.
• You can add more than one Tag to an item.
• Use the Toolbar Help button when unsure.